Falling
by Kainaku
Summary: The ceiling collapsed, and he sprinted to push her away. Suki was safe, but Katara just stood there. And then she was gone. He hadn't been fast enough. An AU from the beginning of TSR through just after EIP. Oneshot.


**A/N:** Pinch-hitting a Zutara Secret Santa gift for Freak-With-Issues. Hope you like it, buddy!

**Disclaimer:** Don't own it!

* * *

_Falling_

* * *

Katara fell. She fell and it was all his fault.

Zuko guided Appa close to the canyon walls below the Air Temple, asking every spirit and deity he knew to let him find her.

The ceiling had collapsed, and he had sprinted to push her away. Suki had already dashed over to Sokka, but Katara just stood there. And then she was gone. He hadn't been fast enough.

Everyone froze, staring at the place she had just been standing. It was covered in rubble, edges crumbling down into the crevasse below.

That was his last clear memory. His sister had a way of gumming things up in his mind. He remembered fighting Azula. He remembered plummeting off the airship. He remembered someone pulling him onto Appa. He remembered Azula clinging to the far wall of the canyon.

But Zuko didn't know why his ribs hurt whenever he took a breath. He wasn't sure why the palms of his hands were raw and red with new burns or why his forearms were covered in dusty scrapes. And somehow he'd torn a hole in the knee of his pants.

The only person who seemed to be able to function was Suki. She had sent him off to look for Katara. Toph told him to take Appa, and Sokka was the one who kept the Avatar from creating a hurricane.

The bison flew so close to the cliff face that Zuko could lean out and touch the rock. That was when he saw a bit of blue. His heart beat double-time. A corner of her skirt had torn off and crammed in a crevice. Zuko looked down the wall a bit further. Another scrap of cloth clung to the rocks ten feet below.

He swallowed, trying to wet his throat. If she fell this far, she wasn't going to be in good shape if—_when_ he found her. Zuko started muttering prayers under his breath.

Agni. La. Guanyin. Tui. Vayu. Titali. Yue. Fujin. Anyone. Someone.

"Please, please, _please_." It was his mantra. Zuko couldn't call out to her in case his sister's soldiers had stayed in the area. Everyone was in too precarious of a mental state to handle another attack so soon.

Appa drifted lower, and _finally_ Zuko saw her. Katara was wedged in to a wide crack streaking its way down the cliff. Her right arm stuck out at a strange angle. Zuko nudged the bison toward her.

Zuko balanced himself between the cliff and Appa. He put his hand to her neck, looking for her heartbeat.

Slow, a little fluttery, but definitely there. Zuko could breathe again.

* * *

The fire snapped and popped, but no one spoke. Not now, they probably wouldn't for a while. The air felt heavy, and the ocean's salty tang tasted like blood in his mouth.

Zuko focused on the campfire, willing his face to be like stone. Aang sniffled and clutched Momo. Toph fidgeted, worry etched on her forehead. Sokka and Suki held one another and wouldn't let go.

He couldn't stand it.

Without a word, Zuko walked off toward the ocean, away from his miserable group of friends.

They might not say it, but he knew that this was his fault. Katara never would have been injured if he'd gotten to her quickly enough. He sat in the sea grass and brought his legs up under his chin.

At least she was alive. She might have broken bones, but she was _alive_. Katara was the glue that held everyone together, even him. She might hate him, but she still put up with him. She still dragged him out of his room to be with the group. If she had d—no.

Don't think about that.

Zuko sat in the grass and listened to the waves. He didn't think. He didn't sleep.

* * *

The nearly full moon was setting when he returned to camp. The fire had died. Everyone was asleep. Aang slept in front of Katara's tent, curled up into a tiny ball. Zuko's stomach twisted.

He sat on a rock and kept watch over them until morning.

* * *

"Zuko, I'm gonna need your help," Suki said matter-of-factly.

He blinked. He felt terrible. He probably looked it, too.

"...What?"

"I need someone to help me tape up Katara's ribs."

Sokka and Aang both jumped up.

"Why him? I can help!"

"I can do that!"

Suki sighed, putting her hands on her hips. "Because unlike you two, he's probably had to deal with broken bones. Field medic stuff."

They both deflated a bit.

She grabbed Zuko's collar and dragged him into Katara's tent, shutting down any further arguments. Suki turned around quickly, blocking his view of the other girl.

"You _have_ dealt with broken bones, right?"

Zuko coughed. "You've met my sister, right?"

Suki gave a small, sour smile. "That's what I figured."

She moved back toward the unconscious girl. Katara's shoulder had been wrapped and her forearm and ankle splinted. Her skin looked grey. Bruises colored her jawbone. But she kept breathing, so even if she didn't look it, she was definitely alive.

"So, uh, why did you need me?" Zuko asked softly.

"Well, last night I was able to wrap up her sprained ankle and pop her shoulder back into place, but I need help with her arm and ribs."

"Oh." Zuko felt faint. That sounded similar to how beat up he'd bean after pirates blew up his ship.

Suki handed him two pieces of relatively straight driftwood.

"Let's get to work."

* * *

Suki was a real wonder. Somehow she managed to dress Katara's wounds without feeling nauseous like he did. Zuko sat down on the ground, pressing his palms to his forehead. He felt green. He'd wait a few minutes before following her out.

Katara might have been unconscious, but she still had squirmed and cried out when something particularly painful moved.

She shifted, whimpering.

He looked up, and her eyelids fluttered.

"Katara…?"

She frowned, eyebrows scrunching together. He doubted she wanted to wake up to him right there. He probably should get someone. Sokka. Aang. Toph. Suki. Momo. Anyone but him, really.

"What…" she whispered, eyes finally staying more open than closed. He scooted backward. "…What happened?"

"I'll, uh, go get the others," he answered hoarsely. Her eyes caught his, freezing him.

He swallowed nervously. Katara started trying to sit up, but both her arms were wrapped tightly. She blanched, whimpering. Zuko gently pressed her back down into her bedroll.

"You probably shouldn't—"

Ah, there was the glare he was accustomed to. Zuko retracted his hand quickly and about-faced out of the tent. He'd let the others know she was awake.

He didn't go back for the rest of the day.

* * *

It was near midnight when he ducked into her tent. Katara was awake, sitting up against a rock wall that could have been Toph's work. She turned, her eyes freezing him midstep.

"What do you want?" Her voice was cold, too.

"I, uh," Zuko scuffed his foot on the ground, not looking at her. It was easier that way. "I wanted to apologize."

Her forehead furrowed, softening her glare a bit.

"I didn't get there fast enough," he said softly.

Katara snorted. Zuko looked up, frowning. Her face was tight with pain again.

"Zuko, why don't you be useful and get my water," her voice sounded strained.

"Uh, right, okay, yeah. I can do that." He heard her tut at him as he left the tent.

After a bit of scrounging in the pile of everyone's stuff, he found both of her water skins. Sokka poked his head of the boys' tent, shooting a questioning eyebrow at him. Zuko shrugged and held up the water skins. Sokka nodded and disappeared back into his tent.

Zuko entered Katara's tent again. Her glare didn't make him freeze this time. He sat down by her bedroll and popped the corks off the skins. She made a few motions with her fingers, and long tendrils of water came to her, covering her hand. Katara pressed her hand against her side. She closed her eyes, biting her lip in concentration.

He watched her, fascinated. Every now and then, she would squint and he'd hear a faint popping noise. After a few minutes, her whole body trembled. Zuko moved to put a hand on her shoulder, but he thought better of it. He gripped his knee instead.

"Katara," he called quietly.

She shook her head. "No. Just one more. Just a fracture."

Frowning, he stayed near, ready to steady her in case her strength gave out. Katara breathed in deeply and opened her eyes wearily. She sloppily sent the water back into the skins, and he corked them again.

"Are you… okay?"

Katara gave him a wry twist of her mouth. "Do I look it?"

His lips twitched.

"Don't you worry about my strength, Zuko. I've got plenty."

"I know."

* * *

Breakfast was short. Jerky and dried fruit, mostly. But the mood had brightened; they could talk again.

"We need to move," Sokka said.

Suki pouted up at him from his lap. "But I'm comfy."

Sokka smiled softly. "No, uh, I didn't mean like that. I meant camp."

"What?" Aang asked. "Why?"

"It's not safe here," Sokka replied. Zuko nodded. That made sense. They were still in the Western Air Isles, and camping this close to the shore gave them little cover from Azula's airships.

"You've got a point there," Suki agreed.

Aang shook his head. "We can't! Katara's too weak!"

Zuko frowned.

"Aang, I know—" Sokka started, but Aang cut him off.

"She can't even _stand_! We have to stay here until she's better!"

"Aang, we _can't_. This place is too much of a risk. We're barely even hidden."

"But Sokka—"

"Sokka's right," Zuko cut in. "We need to go somewhere less dangerous to finish your training."

"But—"

"And somewhere more comfortable for Katara." Zuko stared down the younger boy. Aang glowered.

"Zuko, I just don't think—"

"That's just it, Twinkletoes," Toph interrupted. "You're _not_ thinking. This dinky little island isn't a hiding place. We need to go somewhere else. Listen to Snoozles and Hotpants."

"But Katara—"

"—Thinks we need to move." Katara leaned against the center pole of her tent, head and shoulders peeking out behind the cloth. Her knuckles were white. Aang jumped up to help her. "They're right Aang, this isn't safe."

"But you're still so weak!"

Katara frowned. "I'm not what's important. We need to get you somewhere so you can finish learning firebending."

Aang pouted, and it looked like he was going to disagree again. Instead, he finally nodded. "Okay, Katara."

Quiet settled over them again. Sokka dug around in a pack to find his maps. Zuko cleared his throat quietly. Katara and Aang disappeared back inside her tent, and Zuko just barely stopped from scowling. Toph faced him, eyes aimed just to the left of him.

"You seem twitchy," she said.

"What? No. I'm fine."

She grinned. "You're _lying_."

"I'm _fine_," Zuko huffed back. He turned to Sokka, ignoring her. "I think I might know a place."

Sokka glanced up from his map. "Yeah? Where?"

"It's not too far, and it's the last place Azula or my fa—_Ozai_ would look. And it has real beds."

Suki clapped her hands. "I vote there!"

* * *

Everyone gasped when they saw the house. He supposed mansion was a more appropriate term. Even Katara's eyebrows jumped.

"Nice digs, Princey," Toph commented, walking through the front door. He snorted. Suki helped Katara slide down Appa's back. Katara grumbled when she climbed on Sokka's back, awkwardly tucking her splinted arm to her chest. Aang steadied her with a hand on her back, and Zuko stood awkwardly in front of everyone. They all stared at him.

"Er, right," he mumbled. "Follow me, I guess."

He led them upstairs, into the one room he knew Katara would like. It was the biggest, brightest room with the best view of the ocean, and when the sun set, the walls glowed gold.

Zuko pulled the dustsheet off the bed. The cotton bedclothes could probably use a wash, but that chore could wait. Aang and Suki helped Katara hobble from Sokka to the bed. Katara sighed into the mountain of pillows. Suki threw a couple of the extras down to Zuko.

"Put those under her ankle," she ordered.

"Uh, sure." He glanced at Katara quickly, but her eyes were shut. Zuko gently lifted her wrapped ankle, putting the pillows underneath, and he backed away quickly. Katara didn't even flinch.

Everyone stood around her bed for a few minutes before they realized she had fallen asleep. Zuko thought maybe the trip had been more exhausting for her. Riding on Appa was never easy, and having broken bones must have made it agony. But he couldn't remember ever hearing her complaining.

* * *

Suki enlisted Zuko as her nursemaid again that afternoon while Toph and Aang practiced their earthbending. Sokka had fallen asleep on the kitchen table.

"I'll need to check her ribs again," she muttered to herself. "Plus I've got to make sure her arm got set correctly. Can't have a waterbender with a crooked arm."

Suki handed him several rolls of bandages and a couple sturdier splinting boards from a supply closet. Zuko followed her upstairs and into Katara's room. He set the first-aid materials down on the bedside table and stepped back.

Katara was still passed out, and he wasn't sure how she'd react if his was the first face she saw again.

Suki woke her up with a touch to her uninjured shoulder. "Time for a check-up."

"Okay," Katara replied, voice thick with sleep. Suki opened Katara's robes to examine her ribs and hummed.

"Katara, did you heal yourself?" She asked.

"What? Oh, yeah, a bit."

Suki tutted. "Well, you should probably hold off on doing that again for a while."

"Yeah, I know," Katara muttered. "But I couldn't breathe, so I fixed it."

Suki laughed. "Don't do it again, okay?"

"Okay."

* * *

Coming back to Ember Island was more difficult than he realized. Every corner held an unwanted memory just waiting to catch him unawares. Zuko tried to steer away from the shadows.

He did his best to stick to a routine.

The mornings were spent with Aang. It was easiest to find a connection with the sun when it rose, and firebending became stronger the closer it got to noon.

Aang improved every day. His movements weren't exact, but his strength of will and raw talent filled in the gaps well enough. Zuko could hardly tell that the younger boy had only been firebending for a month. He swallowed the bitter taste in his mouth. It didn't matter that it took him until he was fifteen to get to the same point Aang was at as a twelve-year-old. It was good that Aang mastered the basics so quickly. The comet was only getting closer.

Early afternoons were spent with Sokka. It seemed the other boy worked out his stress by trying to beat the hell out of Zuko. So Zuko returned the favor. Sometimes with their swords, sometimes with their fists, sometimes with Suki jumping in to make it a real melee. It was the closest thing to fun he'd had in a long time.

The hour before dinner, when the heat was the worst, everyone dispersed to find a way to cool off. Zuko would make a pot of tea, and if he didn't spit out the first sip, he took it upstairs to Katara.

Katara always grumbled at him, but he ignored her.

Zuko always apologized, but she ignored him.

Sometimes they talked.

Then the sun set. Everyone ate dinner up in Katara's room, laughing and keeping her caught up with the group's latest shenanigans. No one mentioned that Katara could barely feed herself.

* * *

"This is a really nice room," Katara said, running a finger around the rim of her teacup.

"Yeah."

"Do all the rooms light up like this when the sun sets?"

"No, just this one."

"Oh. Well it's a really nice room."

"The best."

She stared at him over her teacup, but Zuko made sure to be looking out the window.

"It was the least I could do," he muttered. Katara huffed and set her empty teacup down on the table.

"Stop that."

"What?"

"Beating yourself up. Apologizing all the time. Not everything's your fault."

He blinked at her, finally meeting her eyes. "Isn't it, though?"

* * *

"It was my mother's."

She started, slopping some tea on her lap. "What?"

"This room. It was my mother's room."

"Oh." She bent the tea from the comforter, freezing it into a disc and put it on her saucer.

"Sometimes she'd let come sit with her at sunset, and she'd tell me stories about the dragons."

"She sounds like a great mom." Katara stared out the window.

"The best."

* * *

"I am sorry, you know."

"Zuko," she groaned, pressing a palm to her eyes. "We've been over this a hundred times already."

"I know, but—"

"No. No 'buts'. Don't apologize to me again."

Zuko frowned, crossing his arms. "I'll say whatever I think is necessary, thanks."

"Well," Katara huffed right back at him. "I'm telling you 'sorry' isn't necessary."

"Who says you can boss me around?"

"I say so! I'm the injured person here!"

"That doesn't mean—"

"That's _exactly_ what it means!"

He stomped out of the room.

* * *

"Where is everyone?"

"Some awful play."

"A play?"

"Yeah, there's a theater troupe around here that's putting on something called 'The Boy in the Iceberg.'"

"…Is that what I think it is?"

"If you think it was Sokka's idea to go see a play about everything that's happened in the past year starring all of us, then yes."

She laughed. He felt his lips twitch.

"Of _course_ it was. That sounds just like his kind of wacky, time-wasting nonsense." Katara met his eyes and kept smiling. His mouth went dry. "Why didn't you go?"

"The theater troupe is _awful_. They butcher 'Love Amongst the Dragons' every year!"

She snorted. "I never pegged the angry guy with a ponytail as a theater snob."

"I'm not being a _snob_, they're just really horrible actors," he tried to explain. "No depth. Very two-dimensional."

Katara's smile widened. "Whatever you say, Zuko."

* * *

The next day stayed quiet. The play put everyone in a funk. Zuko was glad he chose to stay behind. He had enough nightmares about everyone dying; he didn't need to see it happen on stage, even if the actors were terrible.

They drank the entire pot of tea without starting any sort of conversation. The sky dulled from a bright, burning orange to a soft peach before either of them broke the silence. Clouds made the light dance on the gold walls.

"Sokka says we all died," Katara murmured, playing with her teacup again. She seemed to be enjoying having almost full use of both her arms again.

"Of course we did," Zuko replied. "The play was written by and for the Fire Nation. Anything less than a victory for my fa—_Ozai_ would be treason."

"I guess." She frowned at the cup, avoiding him. She bit her lip. "But that's what's going to happen to us, isn't it?"

Finally her eyes met his. Zuko swallowed the melon that somehow found its way into his throat.

"No. It isn't."

"C'mon, Zuko." Her shoulders slumped as she relaxed against the headboard. "We're just a bunch of kids fighting against a century of hatred. Of _course_ someone's not gonna come back."

"No." He was surprised at how firm he sounded. "I won't let that happen. If I can survive the worst my family can throw, so can the rest of you."

"This is a war. People _die_. Particularly those who seek out the Firelord."

He leaned forward and grabbed her hand. "Not this time. Aang can beat him. Especially if he's got us to back him up. We just need to trust each other."

The corners of her mouth turned a little. "Maybe." She sighed, rolling her other wrist. "I'll be able to bend by the time the comet's here. One more week, right?"

"Right. One week." His face pinched. Aang wouldn't be a master, but it would have to be enough. Especially with what his father had planned for that day. He had to believe in Aang. He had to trust in the Avatar.

"It's not your fault, you know," Katara murmured, running her thumb across his palm.

He wasn't sure exactly what she was talking about, but lately he was pretty sure everything could be blamed on him. The burned komodo chicken at lunch, her injuries, Aang's poor attention span, Toph's almost constant bad mood. All of it could have stemmed from him.

"Isn't it?"

She breathed in deeply, twining her fingers through his. Zuko thought his heart might have skipped.

"People get hurt. You can't control that. That's probably the most difficult lesson I've learned this year."

"I messed up, Katara." He stared at their fingers. "I'm surprised you haven't made good on that threat."

"Zuko." Her voice held a tone, a feeling that he'd never heard whenever she had said his name before. "I pushed you out of the way."

He stopped breathing. Zuko stumbled through those hazy, gaping memories of the day Azula attacked the temple.

The ceiling was falling. The rocks thundered in his ears. Maybe he yelled her name. He grabbed her forearm, but she pulled away. Her hands pressed against his chest, reversing his momentum. Thunder clapped, followed by desperate silence. He rolled to a stop inches before the edge of the floor dropped into the fathomless canyon below.

"Oh," he exhaled.

"Yeah," she whispered. Her other hand wrapped around his, warm and dry. An anchor to keep him from falling.

"I thought—"

"You might not have been my favorite person, but right then… you were the most important." Katara glanced up at him again. "No one else could teach Aang. I couldn't let you die."

Zuko stared at her. His heart beat somewhere in his throat, and he licked his lips, trying to figure out why everything felt so dry. He heard the waves crash against the shore.

"You're more valuable than me," she murmured. "You can't die."

He found himself sitting on the edge of her bed. Zuko didn't remember moving from his chair. She was concentrating on the hand of his she held between her own. He brushed the hair from her face, tucking it behind her ear.

"Neither can you."

Zuko leaned forward and pressed his lips against her forehead. Katara froze. He pulled back. She stared at him, biting her lip. His ears burned, and the back of his neck itched something awful.

"We'd be lost without you, Katara."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down again, hugging him tightly.

"I think I'm ready to forgive _you_," she said against his ear. "I think I forgave you a while ago, actually."

Zuko shivered, clinging to her. He had waited so long to hear her say something like that. Every sharp word, every glare, every terrible cup of tea was worth it, just for those words. Just to hold her like this.

Katara's grip loosened and he pulled away. Her hands drifted up to his shoulder and his face. She smiled at him, and Zuko didn't see any of her usual ice.

"You're right," she said. "We've got to trust in each other." Her fingers brushed across his good cheek. He leaned into her hand, closing his eyes.

"We're all we've got," he answered softly.

"Yeah." Katara's breath ghosted across his lips, and then she kissed him firmly.

Zuko squeezed his eyes shut. If he didn't open them, then he wouldn't wake up; he could stay in this dream forever. He pressed back and she grinned against his mouth. His stomach flipped, tying and untying itself. His pulse beat erratically.

Katara's hands combed through his hair, making him shiver. She sighed into him before pulling away, leaning her forehead against his. He refused to open his eyes.

"Thank you," she murmured.

He brushed his hand through her hair. "For what?"

"You never give up."

Zuko fell. He fell and it was all her fault.

* * *

**A/N:** The wishlist was what if Zuko hadn't saved Katara from the collapsing temple?, What if Katara went with Sokka and Zuko to The Boiling Rock, Katara teaching Zuko how to swim, protect, and abuse. I only hit on two of them, but more than 4K words came spilling out, so… yeah.

If you were curious about Zuko's deities from the first section, here's a bit more information. _Guanyin_ is a Buddhist bodhisattva whose name means "observing the sounds of the world," and I've seen her pop up in a few fics as a major spirit or goddess for the Earth Kingdom. I've used her Chinese name here, but if you google her, you'll find she has many names in many languages. _Vayu_ is the Hindu Lord of the Winds. He's also a fun google search. _Titali_ is Hindi for the Painted Lady. I figure the Painted Lady probably has a more formal name than just the Painted Lady, so I plugged her into google translate. She's also a pretty butterfly. _Fujin_ is a Japanese wind god, and another variant of his name is Futen.

This was interesting to write. I don't often do fics with multiple scenes and/or major plotlines. Following the first prompt also brought up some conflicts with canon. If Katara fell, she'd have broken bones, internal bleeding, and other serious injuries that would prevent her from being able to go on her life-changing field trip with Zuko. It was an interesting dilemma to try to solve, and I hope what happened made sense and doesn't feel forced. Also, it was super difficult to work with more than just two characters (even if I relegated the rest of the gaang to the side most of this story).

Big thanks to my beta on this, laughgenerator. She's a wonderful human being and you should all go follow her on Tumblr. Lots of lulz to be had.

A very belated, very merry holiday to Freak-With-Issues. Thanks for the great prompts.

Hope y'all enjoyed!


End file.
